Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, is a non-invasive procedure that uses magnets and radio waves to construct pictures of the body. A powerful magnet generates a magnetic field roughly 10,000 times stronger than the natural background magnetism from the earth. A very small percentage of hydrogen atoms within a human body will align with this field.

When focused radio waves are broadcast towards the aligned hydrogen atoms in tissues of interest, they return a signal. The subtle differences in that signal from surrounding body tissues enable MRI to create an imaging plane of organs and other internal body parts. These planes, or slices, can be combined to form a picture of the knee, elbow, spine or any part of the body that is of interest to the physician.

MRI is performed easily through clothing and bones; however certain types of metal can cause significant errors, called artifacts, in the reconstructed images. This is why you cannot bring metal objects into the examining room and people with pacemakers cannot be scanned using MRI.

Open MRI

The first MRI exam ever performed on a human being took place in 1977. The earlier models are called closed-tube MRI and thousands of these are still in use across the country. Technicians discovered that many people suffered acute claustrophobia when they were enclosed in the narrow tunnel. This led to the invention of the Open MRI. Although Open MRI was in development in the 1980’s it wasn’t until the late-1990’s that Open MRI machines became bigger sellers than the original closed machines.

Open MRI, like its closed-tube predecessor, utilizes a platform that the patient lies on. The platform slides forward but the tube that housed the magnets has been replaced by two large discs that sit above and below the patient so that the sides are open. Despite replacing the tube, there are still instances of patients who feel anxiety and nausea when positioned under the large overhead magnet. Should this occur, the technician may recommend our Upright Open MRI instead. The only MRI of its kind in Highlands County, the patient can walk in and sit down in the Upright Open MRI and because the large magnets are located on either side, there is nothing to obstruct the patient’s view.